It is common knowledge that after a certain amount of usage of commercial and recreational vehicles, operative parts thereof, including flywheels, clutches, starters, transmissions, drive shafts, bell housings and the like, wear or breakdown and are therefore in need of repair or replacement. Because of the weight, size and shape of such parts, and the confined space in which a mechanic must ordinarily work, handling of such parts, when being removed or installed is a cumbersome, strenuous, and dangerous task unless a properly designed mechanical device is employed.
A conventional mechanical or hydraulic jack is generally unsatisfactory for this purpose because of its failure to provide adequate support for parts of irregular shape, with the resulting danger that the removed part may topple from the jack and injure the mechanic. In addition, use of the conventional jack has been objectionable because such devices have required laborious and time-consuming efforts of the mechanic and usually require that the same be assisted by another mechanic or helper in removing or installing the automotive part being replaced or repaired due to the fact that such jacks do not provide a means to adjustably guide the part upon the jack so that it may be lifted and returned to its original position. Accordingly, use of these prior art jacks are costly due to the relatively high costs of labor. Also, conventional jacks are ordinarily limited to movement in vertical directions.
Devices which overcome the foregoing and other drawbacks of conventional hydraulic jacks are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. to Tesinsky, 3,948,484, issued Apr. 6, 1976, discloses a device to be used in conjunction with a conventional hydraulic jack and for removing a transfer case from an automobile transmission. The device comprises a base mountable to the hydraulic jack and a cradle plate pivotally connected to the base for movement about a horizontal axis of rotation. To remove the crank case from the transmission, the base is mounted over the extensible portion of the jack and the same is raised until the cradle plate engages the crank case and is securely mounted thereto. Subsequently, the plate is pivoted downwardly to tilt the crank out of the way of obstructing parts of the automobile, and then the crank is transported on the jack to a work area for repair.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. to Hanscom, 4,118,010, issued Oct. 3, 1978, discloses a lifting device comprising, in relevant part, a castered base, an upright support mounted to one side of the base and a boom adapted to pivotally attach to upper or lower portions of the upright support for vertical movement with respect thereto. A hydraulic cylinder is used for actuating pivotal movement of the boom. When the boom is mounted to the top portion of the upright support, the boom functions as a hoist and for this purpose is provided with a hook, chain or cable for lifting. When the boom is mounted to the bottom portion of the upright support, the boom functions as a jacking device for removing and installing automobile transmissions and the like and for this purpose is provided with a cradle tiltably mounted at the rear end of tile boom. The cradle can be adjusted to fit various types of transmissions, gear boxes or the like and can be raised or lowered while maintaining a predetermined level relative to the horizontal.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. to Hamlin, 2,643,779, issued Jan. 15, 1949, discloses a jack for handling transmissions and the like during installation and removal of the same and comprising a castered base, a frame at one end of the base, and an arm pivotally secured to the frame. A pneumatic cylinder is secured to and between the frame and the arm and actuates vertical movement of the arm. A cradle is pivotally mounted to the free end of the arm for rotation in the plane of movement of the arm. The transmission is adapted to mount to the cradle. In this manner, the cradle is rotatably adjustable independent of the arm.
Although the devices disclosed above may overcome some of the disadvantages associated with conventional jacks, they are not without their own drawbacks. Many of these devices include a boom pivotally mounted to a base and a support pivotally mounted to the free end of the boom to permit the support to maintain a horizontal condition when the boom is moved between upper and lower positions. The support, however, is only rotatable through a horizontal axis of rotation. In addition, although in some instances the support may be adjusted to mount more than one type of automotive part, as disclosed above by Hanscom, in the majority of cases, only one support is provided. Thus, the support is, by its very nature, limited to the types of parts which it can safely accommodate.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a lifting device for automotive parts and including a vertically adjustable boom adapted to adjustably mount a variety of automotive part attachments for movement through horizontal, vertical, and diagonal axes of rotation. In addition, it is desirable to adapt the supports to mount, for secure custom-fit attachment, a variety of automotive parts. In this manner, a device provides for universal adjustment in a variety of directions in three-dimensional space and attains universal application to large numbers, sizes, and shapes of automotive parts in need of replacement or repair.